the Turbie rack railway, Monaco-France

How much was that land in the left distance worth then, and how much now?

 

"the big curve"

A PLM poster promoting the area.

Remains of the first provisional station (riviera-francaise.fr)

In the late nineteenth century, La Turbie was linked with Monaco via a network of trails.  With the development of tourism in the Belle Epoque, it was necessary to find a comfortable and quick means to transport the rich clientele of Monaco to the village: so the cogwheel railway was inaugurated on 10 February 1894.
 
A veritable technological feat, the locomotive and one car made the journey of 2.5 km several times a day carrying passengers from Monaco in La Turbie at 7 km/h, on a metre gauge track. The car had both first and second classes! Powerful brakes were needed because of the steep slope with over 400 meters of altitude change. Passengers enjoyed a breathtaking sight, but operation of the rack ended tragically on 8 March 1932, when an accident caused two deaths departing from the station at Beausoleil.